'Never again Oerend Hard'

Yesterday I went to the farewell concert of Normal with some friends. It has nothing to do with Thailand, I tell you because there will also be a number of expats in Thailand who have memories of the music and concerts of this band from the Achterhoek. After all, normal has left its mark on Dutch pop culture in our country over the past 40 years.

I'm not a fan of the first hour myself. The choice to go to the last concert is mainly motivated by youth sentiment. In my younger years we visited the concerts of Normal when they performed in a party tent in Beekbergen. Usually an orgy of beer and loud music, but oh well you're young, rebellious and then it has to be rough.

Farmer rock

Normal, as the founder of farm rock, started in 1973. Was founded by Bennie Jolink (Buizen Beernd) and Jan Manschot (Breken Jan Schampschot). In 1977 they had their first hit: Oerend Hard. The tours they organize are called 'campaigns' and consisted of concerts that are often given in (large) party tents.

Beer, women, music, partying and motocross, for Normal it's høken. Farming life is hard, sometimes the pressure has to be off, that's fine with a performance by the rocking Achterhoekers. Who doesn't know the songs: Alie, Mamma woar is mien pils?, Just like yesterday, Door thunder, Not noar huus toe goan and Hiekikkowokan. But the test of time does its job. Bennie Jolink turns 70, suffers from asthma and hangs his guitar from the pollard willows. The last performance of the band was yesterday in the GelreDome in Arnhem.

We arrived in Arnhem early in the afternoon to dive into the pubs in the city center that were already populated by Normal fans from the very beginning. You can pick them out t-shirt, denim jacket and some on clogs. The dialect betrays the origin. In Apeldoorn, a lot of dialect was spoken in my youth, so I can understand that well. We called it 'farmers talk' at the time.

Stadium

Once in the GelreDome, the atmosphere was great. Especially the barley juice flowed abundantly. Remarkably enough no Grolsch, the national drink in the Achterhoek, Heineken was tapped and that is swearing in church.

The GelreDome was packed full. It was great fun to watch the fans. Lavishly decked out in a way that represents what they are. For example, I saw an older man in a neat suit, but with a cap and yellow clogs on his feet. Young people in blue overalls and many others bare-chested. Welcome to Normal, we're going høken.

After the support act with Rowwen Hèze and De Kast, the countdown begins. The well-known cock cockerel is the start of the Ajuu de Mazzel concert. Bennie Jolink opens spectacularly by floating through the air on a roaring dirt bike. The crowd goes wild and the beer is thrown into the air.

National anthem of the Achterhoek

When Jolink has reached the stage and gets off his bike, he is greeted loudly by the fans. "Farmers! Farmers!”, sounds from the throats of 33.000 spectators in the stadium. Here they can be themselves, proud of their origins.

Before the break I thought the concert was excellent, after the break it fell a bit. It's no secret that Jolink has distanced himself from the rough nature of the music in recent years. That was also noticeable after the break. The quiet songs took the tempo out of the performance.

Fortunately, the songs Deurdonderen and Oerend Hard made up for a lot. In between for the last time also the famous national anthem of the Achterhoek: Woman Haverkamp. The lyrics, of course, remain legendary:

Wife Haverkamp, ​​Wife Haverkamp

what big tits i have

how do you know, how do you know

I held them in my hands

I've seen them go up and down

I've seen them standing around

Wife Haverkamp, ​​Wife Haverkamp

what big tits i have

Normal closes with the 'Ballade of the musician', written by co-founder Jan Manschot, who died of a brain tumor in 2014.

At the end of the concert, a huge farmer's twilight lamp hangs above the stage. Bennie Jolink pulls the string. It's out.

Never again Very hard…

[youtube]https://youtu.be/rVRJSn9QaYc[/youtube]